Chapter 9: The Fortuitous Encounter
He calmly stepped forward and gently caressed the gate's door. It had an intricate and elegant design.
"This is my second call since I arrived. What a tight schedule for a newcomer." He sarcastically remarked, his outstretched hand pushed the gate open.
Without hesitation, he stepped through. The murmurs in his ears intensified sharply.
Light swallowed him whole.
His vision blurred. The infinite spirals that adorned the darkness shrank into nothingness. The void folded in on itself—revealing a lush, green forest, thick with life.
Nathaniel's gaze wandered—then stopped.
A woman trembled as she desperately chanted a name from a grimoire. Nearby, two children cried out for a wounded knight lying motionless on the ground.
A family of sorts? Nathaniel thought as he caressed the outline of his chin.
He calmly stared at them for a second before he decided to call them.
"Mortals."
His voice descended from above, it was deep and heavy, which startled the woman and children below.
The woman regained her composure in no time as she quickly pleaded, "God! Please, help my husband! He's on the verge of death!"
Tears built up in her eyes as she spoke, her voice trembling in fear and desperation.
Nathaniel quickly assessed the situation and inspected the knight's status.
——————————
Name: Draken Lionhart
Race: Human
Status: Fatally Wounded
Lifespan: 3 minutes (90 years)
Tier: 1
Rank: C
Titles: The Brave
Bloodline: Lionhart's Bloodline — Spirit of Bravery
Physique: None
Symbolism: None
Spirit Beast: Flame Lion — Active
Attribute: Sharp
Reactor: Blue
Affinity:
— Fire (S-rank)
Talent:
— Ruler of Fire (S-rank)
——————————
3 minutes? There's plenty of time, huh?
Nathaniel thought, his gaze locked onto the huge diagonal slash sustained by the knight—it was unbelievably red, a combination of both the exposed flesh alongside the blood of the knight and the healing potions poured onto the wound.
He calmly sorted through the limitless memories he had acquired, the knowledge of almost everything that existed within this world and picked out one of the strongest healing spells to be used.
">Heaven's Grace
The knight's body quickly healed, so did the other three, their surroundings also grew plants and flowers as life began to flourish around them as a result of the holy energy seeping everywhere.
"I'm alive…?" Draken muttered under his breath as he suddenly hugged the woman beside him, who was his wife. "Thank God! I'm alive!"
His wife smiled, tears brimming once more—but this time with relief.
Then her expression darkened. As someone who knew the cost of divine magic, she asked the question that weighed on her soul.
"What… is the price?"
The price, huh? I wonder what I should ask?
Nathaniel paused, descending slowly. His abstract form began to materialize into something more human.
His previously formless body twisted into a tall, lean figure. On his face was a confident grin. Hair black as the night. Eyes a vivid sky-blue. Pale skin. Atop his head—an elegant black cowboy hat. He wore a long black coat over a tucked-in light brown shirt, with black pants fastened neatly with a belt.
He now stood before them—not as a god, not as a formless echo, but as something more present.
"The price? Well, I might have something in mind." Nathaniel spoke with deliberate pause in between, his gaze drifted from each member of the family.
It soon landed on the figure of a young boy, he could notice the unbelievably weak presence of mana emanated from his body.
System, please progress as usual and inspect the boy's status.
——————————
Name: Abel Lionhart
Race: Human
Status: Mana Blockage, Weak Immune System, Weak Physique
Lifespan: 11 years
Tier: 1
Rank: E-
Titles: None
Bloodline: Lionhart's Bloodline — Spirit of Bravery (Sealed)
Physique: Cursed Physique — Fragile Flesh
Symbolism: None
Spirit Beast: Gluttonous Flies — Dormant
Attribute: Hollow
Reactor: White
Affinity:
— Blaze From The Sky (SSS-rank)
— Miasma Of Corruption (SS-rank)
Talent:
— Herald Of The Blazing Sky (SSS-rank)
— King Of Corruption (SS-rank)
— Gluttonous Desire (EX-rank)
——————————
A natural EX-ranked talent? How amazing…
Nathaniel remarked inwardly as his gaze turned to the knight and his wife.
The edge of his lips curled up into a menacing smile as he began to speak.
"The price for that healing is simple, I will have your youngest son form a magical contract with me and I will become his Sponsor, through this he will be able to summon a replica of myself and use a fraction of my abilities." He said, calm and confident.
The knight and his wife looked at each other for a moment, the entity before them asked for their son to make a contract with him.
Magical contract tied both parties under the rules written, but you should still be careful, there might be a loophole written like that purposely.
From Nathaniel's palm, a mass of mana escaped into the air and formed a piece of translucent paper with words written on them.
The content of the contract was simple.
Party A would be able to perform a [Divine Descent] into Party B's body once every two weeks, provided Party B is aware.
Party A would have limited ability to communicate with the outside world through [Spiritual Manifestation], in this state Party A would be unable to affect the physical world and shall be perceivable primarily by Party B.
Party A shall ensure the survival of Party B in the event that Party B's life is threatened.
Party B would be able to summon the replica of Party A for 4 minutes and the summoned replica would follow all orders without question.
Party B would have access to Party A's [Mana Pool] and [Arsenals] during the term of this contract.
Party A would be forbidden to hurt any allies as determined by Party B's unaltered will or intent at the time, if broken [Divine Descent] will be unable to be performed for a month.
Upon the completion of the contract, Party A shall cure Party B of all pre-existing [Negative Ailments].
That's all.
Nathaniel walked past the boy's parents and handed him the contract, the parents were about to call out to him, they're worried that their son might be tricked but with just a stare they refrained from doing so.
He waited for a while before speaking once again, "So? Do you wish to complete the contract?"
The boy was silent, contemplating his answer.
Seeing his brother facing the deity alone, he was about to shout that he will offer himself instead, that was until his brother's lips parted.
"I will complete the contract."
There was silence. The only sounds they could hear was that of their own heartbeat, the sound of leaves falling and branches breaking.
"Are you sure?"
The boy stared at Nathaniel with determined eyes, and spoke once again.
"Yes, I am sure."
The smile on Nathaniel's face widened, "Is that so? That's great, just sign it there."
The boy stared at him with a confused expression.
"Ah? Are you saying that you don't have a signature? Well, I don't really expect everyone to have one so just put your finger here." Nathaniel pointed at a specific spot on the contract, calmly guiding the boy.
After the contract is completed, both Nathaniel and Abel felt a connection between their beings.
"Um, one of the contents inside the contract said that you would help me cure my negative ailments, right? Does that mean-"
Suddenly, Abel began to cough up blood.
"Ukh… does that mean… you can cure this sickly body…?"
He asked, hope evident in his tone but there were seeds of doubt sprinkled everywhere.
Nathaniel stared at the fragile boy before him, his extended hand shot out a beam of mana into the boy's body.
Abel clutched his chest, his complexion turning pale as he began to have trouble breathing.
His muscles tightened all over his body as he just gritted his teeth to endure the pain.
His family was worried and tried to help him but Nathaniel prevented them, "Stop, I know what I'm doing."
In just a few seconds, Abel was freed from that torture.
His breathing steadied, his muscles loosen, he could feel heat all over his body and the chest pain was nowhere to be found.
Another obvious change was that Abel was definitely physically stronger than before.
"Now, my job here is done."
Nathaniel said, calm and relaxed as he began to slowly disperse his physical form.
"My God, what is you-"
Before Abel could finish his question, Nathaniel had replied.
"You may address me as the Lord of the Mystical Night, Khaeron. With that said, farewell, Lionharts."
His body turned translucent as he transformed into a formless clump of mana that dispersed into the air.
As his consciousness rippled, twisting into another plane, the galaxy warped back into view, the dancing concepts scattered throughout the endless blackness.
"You're quite a busy man aren't you?"
An overlapping voice greeted him, despite the ambiguity he knew about the true owner of said voice which was none other than the Will of the World.
"I suppose, I am, Lady Willow."
Nathaniel replied calmly as he tipped his recently materialized hat over to the disembodied voice.
"Oh my, Lady Willow? Are we on that stage of the relationship, Mr Lee?"
The Will of the World materialized her avatar into the space in front of him, her hand raised his chin and her gaze was strictly locked onto his formless face.
"I mean, if you would like me to refer to you by any other name then I shall comply."
Nathaniel replied, calm and composed as his gaze locked onto the edge of her face curling upward.
"No need, Willow is… permissible."
She spoke through her soft smile as she turned around towards him and asked.
"Those concepts have been rather active since you left, do you want to come and see?"
Nathaniel's crescent-shaped mouth widened as he muttered.
"With pleasure."
To be continued…